BLISSFULLY YOURS

Winner of the Un Certain Regard Award at the 2002 Cannes International Film Festival, BLISSFULLY YOURS is a poetic, languorous and erotic reverie, reminiscent of the works of Renoir and Antonioni. A girl named Roong yearns for the day when she can happily co-habit with Min, an illegal immigrant in Thailand. He hails from Burma, and the Thai government has been cracking down on the stream of refugees from over the nearby border. Roong gives money to Orn, an older woman with a wrenching tragedy staining her background, to shelter Min (and treat the mysterious skin infection from which he suffers) until the lovers can find a place to live together, unmolested. The run-down village in which they all dwell seems peaceful on the surface, but boredom, hidden conflicts and communications differences (Min fakes a throat condition, lest any authorities hear him speak his native tongue) have spawned unseen tensions and trip-wire emotions. On a deceptively serene summer afternoon, Min and Roong have a picnic in the jungle, one place where they feel unfettered and free to make love in the sunshine. Also in the verdure is Orn, trysting with Tommy, her husband's co-worker. These characters do not have any particularly meaningful goal, as they live for the pleasure of an isolated moment or two away from the flawed political systems, restrictions and strife that govern both countries. (In Thai with English subtitles)